I EXPERIENCED the National Health Service first hand this week when I underwent a prostate cancer test as part of a medical check-up. I'm 48 and as the cancer usually strikes men around the 50 mark, I thought it better to be safe than sorry.

Thankfully I was given a clean bill of health but the medics mentioned to me that many men leave it too late before having a check-up. It must be so frustrating for doctors and nurses to know they could have helped someone if only they had been given a bit more time. So the message is clear - men should get checked out.

The service I received from nurse practitioner Karen Kilburn and consultant urologist Les Gilliland was excellent and it wasn't just down to me being the Elected Mayor of Middlesbrough. I watched the quality of service being provided to numerous other patients within the ward and it was clear that the first class service is being delivered on a severely stretched budget

Whilst waiting my turn, I noticed the vast array of health education leaflets and it dawned on me how much of the NHS resources must be tied up in dealing with self-inflicted problems. Smoking, drinking and fatty foods must be a factor in 50 per cent of patients that end up in hospital.

We could make a massive impact on waiting lists if people cut out smoking and were more careful about what they eat and drink. Instead of dealing with cirrhosis of the liver, fat induced heart attacks or lung cancer, surgeons could be tackling child cancer, leukemia, infertility or other naturally occurring illnesses.

Queues would be halved overnight and hospitals and clinics could get the lick of paint and modern equipment many of them need. I've heard the argument that smokers pay their way through taxes. Well that still doesn't excuse inflicting illness on others or the avoidable tying up of a surgeon's time resulting in queues. And then there is the other associated anti-social aspects of smoking, such as litter and the stench that clings to people's clothes.

I have great sympathy for people who are overweight - but I cannot help thinking that political correctness is setting the health service back in its attempts to help such people lose a few pounds. The medical term obesity seems to have replaced the perfectly adequate word fat in Britain and in America, where they are considering imposing a health tax on fatty foods. So I was pleased to hear an American congressman begin a speech on the so-called "Cheeseburger Bill" with the words "Ladies and gentlemen, this country is just too damn fat".

Over the years, society has gradually changed its opinion as to what is and what is not acceptable. Drink driving is now taboo and in a relatively short space of time attitudes against holding a mobile phone at the wheel have hardened.

If we are serious about helping people improve their quality of life then education is vital at an early age, rather than trying to intervene when people are in their 30s and 40s. We have to create a new culture where health is concerned and ensure the message gets through, not just via leaflets in a waiting room but at home, in the workplace and in the media. Drinking, smoking and over-eating don't just damage your health, but the health of the nation.